Grantlandhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/grantland
en-usTue, 31 Mar 2015 17:20:17 -0400Tue, 31 Mar 2015 17:20:17 -0400The latest news on Grantland from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-simmons-espn-takes-grantland-for-granted-2015-3With new contract looming, Bill Simmons says ESPN takes him and his Grantland site for grantedhttp://www.businessinsider.com/bill-simmons-espn-takes-grantland-for-granted-2015-3
Mon, 16 Mar 2015 14:52:00 -0400Cork Gaines
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/55070b3269bedd9f0b06ed63-620-/bill-simmons-14.jpg" alt="Bill Simmons" border="0" width="620"></p><p>Whether you like him or not, few members of sports media continue to move the needle quite like ESPN's Bill Simmons. But with his contract expiring later this year, speculation continues to swirl that he will leave ESPN, and comments during a recent interview are not going to quell those theories anytime soon.</p>
<p><a href="http://recode.net/2015/03/15/espns-bill-simmons-talks-podcasts-grantland-and-his-next-contract/">Peter Kafka of re/code recently caught up with Simmons</a> at SXSW in Austin and spoke to the artist formerly known as "The Sports Guy" about his future.</p>
<p>Simmons says that his decision on whether or not to stay at ESPN will start with how they plan to handle his website, Grantland.com, moving forward, noting that right now he thinks "they take it for granted."</p>
<p>"I just think Grantland’s at a crucial point now where we’re doing the site that we have now really, really well," Simmons told re/code. "So now the question is, what does that mean to ESPN? I don’t know. I don’t know that it’s a me decision — it’s what does ESPN want from this site? Because if they just want it to stay the same, it’s going to stagnate a little bit."</p>
<p>While Simmons says he has not made any demands to ESPN about Grantland, he does make it clear that changes need to be made and it sounds like his next move may be his last in terms of what he is doing now.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5507051fecad0444316828d8-1200-800/01-765.png" alt="Bill Simmons Quote" border="0"></p>
<p><span style="background-color: #00ffff;"><span style="background-color: #ffff00;"></span></span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-simmons-is-furious-with-espn-2014-10">Simmons reportedly makes more than $5 million per year at ESPN</a>, but the relationship has been rocky in recent years.</p>
<p>During his interview with re/code, Simmons said he hasn't had a lot of contact with ESPN President John Skipper or others in charge at ESPN "since last September."</p>
<p>This is almost certainly a reference to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-espn-suspended-bill-simmons-2014-9">his suspension last September</a> when he went on a rant against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and dared ESPN to suspend him.</p>
<p>Simmons concedes that part of the problem is that Grantland is such a small piece of ESPN's pie that they may not feel it is worth the effort, noting that ESPN makes "billions of dollars with TV rights." However he also says ESPN has a "responsibility" to continue to push successful side projects they "dabble in" to see how great they can be.</p>
<p>On the flip side, ESPN's outgoing ombudsman, Robert Lipsyte, recently explained <a href="http://thebiglead.com/2014/12/04/an-interview-with-robert-lipsyte-outgoing-espn-ombudsman/">in an interview with TheBigLead.com</a> that ESPN doesn't need Simmons to continue nurturing side projects like Grantland or the "30 for 30" documentaries.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5481d6556da811b432b62c30-1200-600/02-112.png" alt="Robert Lipsyte Quote" border="0"></p>
<p>Yes, ESPN can keep those going and the content in all likelihood would be just as great or even continue to get better.</p>
<p>However, ESPN's problem is two-fold: 1) What's next? Simmons didn't invent sports documentaries or multimedia websites but he helped bring them to ESPN in a great way. ESPN has them now, but who is going to come up with the next great idea?; and 2) Who is going to be the central personality to bring the masses to those endeavors? Love him or hate, Simmons is a personality that people gravitate towards.</p>
<p>ESPN will be fine if Simmons leaves but it wouldn't be the same.</p>
<p>Business Insider reached out to ESPN who chose not to comment.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-simmons-espn-takes-grantland-for-granted-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/crossfit-upper-body-exercise-workout-2015-2">3 hardcore exercises to build muscle super-fast</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-on-moneyball-2014-3Mark Cuban Explains Why Moneyball Doesn't Work In The NBAhttp://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-on-moneyball-2014-3
Fri, 28 Mar 2014 11:41:00 -0400Gus Lubin
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/533597606da811136a75daa1-1200-924/mark-cuban-33.jpg" border="0" alt="mark cuban" /></p><p>Baseball has been revolutionized by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moneyball-Art-Winning-Unfair-Game/dp/0393324818">Moneyball</a> insights about the importance of on-base percentage and other advanced statistical measures in evaluating players.</p>
<p>Basketball isn't there yet.</p>
<p>Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says the complex team dynamics of basketball make it much more complicated, <a href="http://grantland.com/features/dallas-mavericks-monta-ellis-dirk-nowitzki-2014/">as he explains to Professor Kirk Goldsberry at Grantland</a>:</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like Moneyball in baseball, where analytics are a good way to determine who to sign or who not to sign, unless where they were is analogous to where you&rsquo;re trying to bring them. [A basketball player] might have X number of win shares on a team that likes to push the ball, and a team that slows it down is a different beast. A guy might be a great rebounder if a team keeps him close to the basket, but if we show on pick-and-rolls or play zone, those numbers are going to be very different,&rdquo; Cuban says.</p>
<p>Statistics do matter in basketball, including the <a href="http://grantland.com/features/expected-value-possession-nba-analytics/">advanced metrics teams hope to get with expensive new camera systems</a>, but they aren't that effective yet.</p>
<p>Case in point is Monta Ellis, the guard who signed with the Mavericks last summer. Ellis used to be notorious among stat geeks for taking lots of bad shots, but since coming to Dallas he has been reborn as a powerful and surprisingly effective offensive force.</p>
<p>About the haters, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle tells Goldsberry: "Those guys are idiots."</p>
<h3><a href="http://grantland.com/features/dallas-mavericks-monta-ellis-dirk-nowitzki-2014/">Read a full analysis of Ellis's turnaround and the Mavericks' playoff run at Grantland &raquo;</a></h3><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/big-data-in-the-workplace-2013-5" >Moneyball at work</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-on-moneyball-2014-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-simmons-speaker-at-sbjd-convention-on-grantlandcom-and-twitter-2011-11Bill Simmons Tells Us About Grantland And The Future Of Sports Journalismhttp://www.businessinsider.com/bill-simmons-speaker-at-sbjd-convention-on-grantlandcom-and-twitter-2011-11
Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:55:00 -0500Ariel Sandler
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4b071d2e000000000088e3ae/bill-simmons.jpg" border="0" alt="bill simmons" /></p><p>He doesn&rsquo;t want his writers overly concerned with page views or site traffic.</p>
<p>And why should he? <strong><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/bill-simmons">Bill Simmons</a></strong> rarely follows convention. He doesn&rsquo;t need to. And usually gets it right. Usually.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&ldquo;There have been times when I missed &ndash; like the cartoon,&rdquo; Simmons said, referring to his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1ye2Pe9W_Q">failed online cartoon series</a>, following his one-on-one interview session at Wednesday&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Conferences-Events/2011/2011-Sports-Media-and-Technology.aspx">SBJD Media and Technology convention</a>.</p>
<p>Or the time he projected Josh Freeman as the next great quarterback.</p>
<p>But it pretty much ends there. The Boston Sports Guy hasn&rsquo;t missed on much. He&rsquo;s the most popular writer in sports thanks to his unique perspectives on sports and pop culture. And, recently, his creative vision has led to opportunities like ESPN&rsquo;s &ldquo;30 for 30&rdquo; documentary series and <em><a href="http://www.grantland.com/">Grantland.com</a></em>, where Simmons acts as editor-in-chief.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t be happier,&rdquo; Simmons said about his new website.</p>
<p>He&rsquo;s thrilled about Grantland&rsquo;s success, especially considering they were vastly understaffed at the time of the site&rsquo;s launch &ndash; minus the whole, waking up early thing.</p>
<p>He recognizes the site will need further tweaking &ndash; like redesigning Grantland&rsquo;s current layout. Which Simmons readily admitted was rather awful. But Simmons also struggled to understand his detractors that have called <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/grantland">Grantland</a> out for not featuring more long-form writing.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&ldquo;It was never intended to be that way, it was intended to be entertaining,&rdquo; Simmons said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t agree that it&rsquo;s a long-form site.&rdquo;</p>
<p>There is still plenty of that. Like Michael Weinreb&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7205085/growing-penn-state">fascinating piece</a> about his ties to Penn State University during this emotional time. But there is also the wildly-successful reality show fantasy league series, in which reality star fantasy teams are assigned points based on each character&rsquo;s ridiculousness.</p>
<p>The key, obviously, is finding talent able to write about this wide range of topics. So how does Simmons seek out rising stars?</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&ldquo;We look for people that stand out,&rdquo; Simmons said. &ldquo;And I think what&rsquo;s happened with the internet, especially with people under-30, is a lot of people are writing like each other. It&rsquo;s really hard to differentiate between some of the people. So the best way to do it is rise above and fill some of those voids.</p>
<p><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter">Twitter</a> has gone a long way in filling the void for journalists and consumers. And done wonders for Simmons&rsquo; career. Still, he is cautious about Twitter&rsquo;s effect on the future of journalism.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&ldquo;I think Twitter is going to be a real danger to sports writing eventually,&rdquo; Simmons told the convention crowd, which let out a collective gasp.</p>
<p>Simmons worries that the instantaneous gratification one receives from Twitter will inhibit future writers from putting in the time and effort to write time-consuming, in-depth feature stories.</p>
<p>For those that enjoy writers like Simmons and recognize Twitter won&rsquo;t be going away any time soon, we can only hope he&rsquo;s wrong.</p>
<p>But I wouldn&rsquo;t bet on it.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-simmons-speaker-at-sbjd-convention-on-grantlandcom-and-twitter-2011-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-simmons-set-off-the-blogosphere-for-saying-nba-players-have-limited-intellectual-capital-2011-10Bill Simmons Set Off The Blogosphere For Saying NBA Players Have 'Limited Intellectual Capital'http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-simmons-set-off-the-blogosphere-for-saying-nba-players-have-limited-intellectual-capital-2011-10
Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:11:23 -0400Ariel Sandler
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4e4064e3ecad041503000025/bill-simmons-mustache.jpg" border="0" alt="bill simmons mustache" /></p><p>The <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/nba">NBA</a> lockout has patience in basketball circles wearing thin. So much so that it&rsquo;s now responsible for writer on writer crime.</p>
<p><strong><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/bill-simmons">Bill Simmons</a></strong> wrote an&nbsp;article Wednesday justifying his purchasing of <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/los-angeles-kings">Los Angeles Kings</a> season tickets. But it quickly evolved into <a href="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7123705/arms-nhl">his issues with the ongoing NBA labor disputes</a>. And a particular sentence has the Twitterverse and blogosphere up in arms.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Simmons wrote that he doesn&rsquo;t trust players because of their &ldquo;limited intellectual capital.&rdquo;</p>
<p><em>SBNation.com&rsquo;s</em> <strong>Tom Ziller</strong> <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/10/20/2502297/nba-lockout-2011-bill-simmons-hook">wrote a scathing response</a> mocking much of what the <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/grantland">Grantland</a> editor wrote. In response to the particular quote about players&rsquo; intellect.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&ldquo;A sportswriter who asserts without evidence that killing three teams, cutting the schedule, adding a play-in tournament, convincing players to reject millions of dollars and talking to <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/malcolm-gladwell">Malcolm Gladwell</a> will lead the NBA to the promised land is accusing NBA players of having limited intellectual capital. This is outrageous. There's really not much more to say about it other than Bill Simmons just said that players are largely stupid.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Players <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/ATolliver44/status/127178378590695424">weren&rsquo;t thrilled</a> with Simmons&rsquo; remarks. Others are even questioning <a href="http://www.i-capitaladvisors.com/2011/10/21/bill-simmons-shows-his-ignorance-about-the-definition-of-intellectual-capital/">his use of the terminology</a>.</p>
<p>The statement is shocking. But would Simmons flat-out call NBA players &ldquo;stupid?&rdquo; It seems unlikely. The more likely case being made is that players&rsquo; lack of boardroom experience places them at a severe disadvantage at the negotiating table.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, everyone&rsquo;s at a disadvantage at the negotiating table when <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/even-the-mediator-is-advising-against-continuing-nba-lockout-negotiations-after-the-latest-talks-turned-ugly-2011-10"><em>no one</em> is at the negotiating table</a>.</p>
<p>The lockout has pitted players versus owners, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cameramen-nba-lockout-2011-10">cameraman against cameraman</a>, and now <a href="http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/216107/ESPNs_Simmons_Believes_Players_Have_Limited_Intellectual_Capital">exploded the blogosphere</a>. With talks at an impasse, who knows what battle will be next.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-simmons-set-off-the-blogosphere-for-saying-nba-players-have-limited-intellectual-capital-2011-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/espn-passes-yahoo-web-traffic-2011-10ESPN.com Shattered Records And Passed Yahoo As The Most Popular Sports Website Last Monthhttp://www.businessinsider.com/espn-passes-yahoo-web-traffic-2011-10
Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:07:00 -0400Tony Manfred
<p><a href="http://adage.com/article/digital/espn-overtakes-yahoo-sports-time-2008/230477/"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4de64de249e2ae5120050000/bill-simmons.png" border="0" alt="bill simmons" /></a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/espn" class="hidden_link">ESPN</a>.com <a href="http://adage.com/article/digital/espn-overtakes-yahoo-sports-time-2008/230477/">set an all-time record for unique visitors</a> and passed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/yahoo" class="hidden_link">Yahoo</a>! Sports as the most popular U.S. sports website last month, Ad Age reports.</p>
<p>It's the first time since 2008 that ESPN is No. 1.</p>
<p>ESPN registered 52 million unique users in the U.S. in September, compared to 49 million for Yahoo!.</p>
<p>The Worldwide Leader attributed the jump to improvements to its Gamecast format, as well as the popularity of Bill Simmons' <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/grantland" class="hidden_link">Grantland</a>.com &mdash; which ESPN includes in its numbers.</p>
<p>There were over 100,000 people on ESPN web properties at any given time in September, ESPN told Ad Age.</p>
<p>ESPN added an impressive 11 million unique visitors from the <a href="http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011/09/15/sports-online-web-traffic-for-august-2011/">41 million it registered last month</a>. Yahoo increased its readership by 2 million.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/espn-passes-yahoo-web-traffic-2011-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-issue-1-2011-10Grantland Will Release A $20 Book That Feels Like A Footballhttp://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-issue-1-2011-10
Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:03:00 -0400Tony Manfred
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4e8b1cdd69bedd896b00005e/grantland-book.jpg" border="0" alt="grantland book" /></p><p><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/grantland">Grantland</a> will team up with McSweeney's and <a href="http://store.mcsweeneys.net/index.cfm/fuseaction/catalog.detail/object_id/7937fb3a-2e7e-4375-b1a8-ad7318e185fb/GrantlandSubscriptionBeginningwithIssue1.cfm">begin publishing</a> a printed quarterly volume this November.</p>
<p>The first book, <em>Grantland Issue 1</em>, is available for pre-order for $19.95 and will ship "in November".</p>
<p>Here's the product description:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">It will feature the best sports writing from the website, delivered in a full-color book featuring original artwork and a host of print-exclusives&mdash;including original fiction, new writing from editor-in-chief <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/bill-simmons">Bill Simmons</a>, posters and pull-out sections, old-school baseball cards and mini-booklets, and a cover that looks and feels like you're holding a football.</p>
<p>So it's copy-and-pasted Grantland articles, some new features, and various nik naks.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-issue-1-2011-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-espn-the-magazine-2011-9Here's How To Fix Grantland And ESPN The Magazine In One Fell Swoophttp://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-espn-the-magazine-2011-9
Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:58:00 -0400Tony Manfred
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4de64de249e2ae5120050000/bill-simmons.png" border="0" alt="bill simmons" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/grantland" class="hidden_link">Grantland</a> is a magazine trapped in a website's body.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/espn" class="hidden_link">ESPN</a> The Magazine is a website trapped in a magazine's body.</p>
<p>This is obviously an oversimplification.</p>
<p>But the truth is that neither of these publications play to the strengths of the mediums through which they reach readers. And they would both be better suited if they traded mediums.</p>
<p>We'll take Bill Simmons' Grantland first.</p>
<p>The site is modeled after short-lived 1990 sports national newspaper <em>The National</em>. In a podcast, Simmons even made a one-to-one comparison, positioning Grantland as what <em>The National</em> could have been if it wasn't for the exorbitant production costs that ultimately doomed the newspaper.</p>
<p>But removing the economic constraints that refined the content of <em>The National</em> has weakened the content of Grantland. The site consistently publishes overly-long, over-cooked, and frivolous pieces that readers have no motivation to read.</p>
<p>Moving to a print medium would force Grantland to only publish the top tier of its content.</p>
<p>In addition, the content itself would be unaffected. Grantland, as it's currently conceived, doesn't take advantage of the Internet as a medium at all. It simply puts a lot text on a page and asks readers to read it all the way through &mdash; there's nothing wrong with that, but it's more conducive to how people read print publications, not how people use the Internet.</p>
<p>ESPN The Magazine is similarly medium-confused.</p>
<p>Much of The Mag's most successful content &mdash; infographics, hi-res photos, bite-sized polls and charts &mdash; would work better in an online space where constraints size and interaction don't exist.</p>
<p>The quick-hitting, highly-visual style that defines The Mag's brand is more conducive to how people use the Internet.</p>
<p>So how about it, Bristol? Why not just pull a quick switcheroo and make both publications make a whole lot more sense?</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-espn-the-magazine-2011-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-sarver-dan-gilbert-2011-9Bill Simmons Just Called Out The Two Biggest Villains Of The NBA Lockout In An Epic Twitter Ranthttp://www.businessinsider.com/robert-sarver-dan-gilbert-2011-9
Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:16:00 -0400Tony Manfred
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4de64de249e2ae5120050000/bill-simmons.png" border="0" alt="bill simmons" /></p><p>Suns owner <strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/robert-sarver" class="hidden_link">Robert Sarver</a></strong> and Cavaliers owner <strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/dan-gilbert" class="hidden_link">Dan Gilbert</a></strong> are actively "hurting <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/nba" class="hidden_link">NBA</a> lockout progress," according to <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/sportsguy33/status/114391131558641665">Grantland editor in chief <strong>Bill Simmons</strong></a>.</p>
<p>Here's what he tweeted about <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/sportsguy33/status/114391899829305344">Sarver</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Sarver overpaid for team, spent last few years slicing $$$$ and turned Suns fans against him. Not he wants to blow up the system? Go away.</p>
<p>And <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/sportsguy33/status/114392275840278528">Gilbert</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Gilbert also overpaid for his team, overpaid players FOR YEARS and would love the current system had LBJ stayed. Now it's no good for him?</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/nba" class="hidden_link">NBA</a> owners are trying to get back a few percentage points of revenue from the <a href="http://www.nba.com/2011/news/07/01/nba-labor-lockout.ap/index.html">57%</a> that the players currently get.</p>
<p>Rumors have it that the owners also want more protection from star players bolting small market teams for big market ones.</p>
<p>Simmons doesn't say why exactly these owners are hurting the progress. But he isn't optimistic.</p>
<p>"Look how they run their real teams. I have no hope," he <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/sportsguy33/status/114394462037348353">added</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/sportsguy33">Here's the full seven-part rant:</a></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">1 Keep hearing Gilbert/Sarver are hurting <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/nba">NBA</a> lockout progress from owner's side. This pisses me off for a variety of reasons, but mainly...</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">2 Sarver overpaid for team, spent last few years slicing $$$$ and turned Suns fans against him. Not he wants to blow up the system? Go away.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">3 Gilbert also overpaid for his team, overpaid players FOR YEARS and would love the current system had LBJ stayed. Now it's no good for him?</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">4 None of the newer owners who overpaid for teams should have any real say in this lockout. It's not our fault they made dumb purchases.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">5 <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/nfl" class="hidden_link">NFL</a> lockout was led by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/kraft" class="hidden_link">Kraft</a>, Jones + Richardson, 3 of the shrewdest and most ruthless businessman we have as sports owners.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">6 NBA lockout has owners like Dolan, Gilbert, Sarver and Taylor prominently involved. Look how they run their real teams. I have no hope.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">7 And on the other side, you have the 5 best agents trying to pull a fast one on Billy Hunter and bump him out. What an f-ing mess. The end.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-sarver-dan-gilbert-2011-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-twitter-2011-9The Best Tweets From The Brilliant "FakeGrantland" Twitter Accounthttp://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-twitter-2011-9
Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:11:00 -0400Tony Manfred
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4e4064e3ecad041503000025/bill-simmons-mustache.jpg" border="0" alt="bill simmons mustache" /></p><p>We don't despise <a href="http://www.grantland.com/">Grantland.com</a> the way a lot of the sports blogosphere does.</p>
<p>But Bill Simmons' website does have a penchant for publishing 10,000-word epics on meaningless topics.</p>
<p>And site seems willing to publish anything of any length on any subject (as long as it's well-written).</p>
<p>The <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter">Twitter</a> account <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/fakegrantland">@fakegrantland </a>pounces on these tendencies, an parodies Grantland's high-brow silliness in 140-character fake article topics.</p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4e70bca569beddcc7500003e-400-300/.jpg" alt="" />
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<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-twitter-2011-9#-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/whoops-bill-simmons-lets-his-grantlandcom-domain-expire-2011-6WHOOPS! Bill Simmons Lets His "Grantland.com" Domain Expirehttp://www.businessinsider.com/whoops-bill-simmons-lets-his-grantlandcom-domain-expire-2011-6
Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:54:00 -0400Nicholas Carlson
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4d7550a74bd7c8a655040000-309-232/sloan-conference-bill-simmons.jpg" border="0" alt="Sloan conference bill simmons" width="309" height="232" /></p><p>Everyone in the sports media world made a very big deal out of ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons's new Website, Grantland, when it launched earlier this month.</p>
<p>This was for a good reason: Simmons is a big star.</p>
<p>So it was a bit surprising this morning to find that Grantland.com is no more.</p>
<p>At least, for the moment.</p>
<p>Go there right now (2:48 EST) and you'll find a note from a company called Network Solutions: " grantland.com expired on 06/13/2008 and is pending renewal or deletion."</p>
<p>Whoopsie!</p>
<p>Hey Bill, <a href="https://www.networksolutions.com/manage-it/bulk-renewal.jsp?siteid=100&amp;channelid=P47C100S1N0B9A1D124E0000V100">click here to renew.</a></p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Nine hours ago, Simmons tweeted: "FYI: Grantland.com is down for the next 2-6 hours, had a server issue that will be resolved soon. Unrelated: Happy Father's Day!"&nbsp; So now we know that the site outage is either a domain issue or a server issue. Or something else!</p>
<p>Anyway, here's what the Website has looked like all day:</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/4dfe44e54bd7c88905160000/grantland-whoops.jpg" border="0" alt="Grantland Whoops" width="620" height="517" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/whoops-bill-simmons-lets-his-grantlandcom-domain-expire-2011-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>